Greek Mythology

1. Greek Mythology Mrs. Burhenn

2. What is Greek Mythology? • The people of ancient Greece shared stories called myths about the gods, goddesses, and heroes in which they believed. • Each god or goddess was worshipped as a deity and ruled over certain areas of the Greeks’ lives. • These exciting stories explained natural phenomena that could not be explained by science in the ancient world.

3. Discrepancies in Greek Mythology • Greek mythology was originally an oral tradition. • Stories were told many times before they were ever written down, and like most games of telephone, things get garbled and messed up. • Different people told the stories in different ways, so while they are usually the same, it is important to remember that things are not always consistent.

4. Why Should We StudyGreek Mythology? • The Ancient Greek culture has been kept alive by the oral and later written stories handed down through thousands of years. • Modern plays, novels, television programs, movies and even advertisements refer to Greek gods, goddesses, heroes and their stories. • Adventurous and exciting stories delight and entertain us.

5. Who Were the Gods andGoddesses of the Pantheon onMount Olympus?

6. Foldable Activity • The top piece is your title page. You must have a title. Your name must appear on this tab. • Each of the other tabs is dedicated to a god or goddess • List what they are known for (god of ______) • Draw at least oneof their symbols (if they have them) • Turn thesenotes into bullet points to help you remember important facts about them (what do they represent) • List parents and siblings(if possible)

7. Zeus – Leader of the Olympian Gods • He ruled the Olympians. • He was the god of the sky, lightning and thunder carrying a thunderbolt as his symbol. • He married Hera, his sister, which was a family habit. • He fathered many children with various goddesses and mortals.

8. Hera – Wife of Zeus • She was the protector of marriage and the home. • She was associated with the peacock, because of her great beauty. • She and Zeus were always quarreling. • She was called the queen of intrigues, a vindictive and jealous wife, who frequently outwitted her husband, Zeus.

9. Poseidon – God of the Sea • He built an underwater palace with a great pearl and coral throne. • Although he chose Thetis, a beautiful water nymph, as his queen, he, like his brother Zeus, was a great wanderer fathering hundreds of children. • He was a difficult god, changeful and quarrelsome, but created many curious forms for his sea creatures. • He invented the horse for his sister Demeter, whom he loved.

10. Hades – God of the Underworld • He was the jealous brother to Zeus and Poseidon. • He made Persephone his wife after stealing her from her mother, Demeter, who was his sister. • Because he was a violent god, who was also very possessive of every new soul, he rarely left his underworld domain.

11. Athena-Goddess of Wisdom,Justice, War, Civilization and Peace • She was born full grown out of the head of Zeus. • She taught man to use tools and taught his wife to spin and weave. • She was the best-loved goddess on Olympus. • She hated Ares, god of war, often besting him in battle. • The Greek city of Athens is named after her. • She was said to have created the spider.

12. Hephaestus-God of Fire,Volcanoes and the Forge • He was the ugliest of the gods, who was rejected by his mother, Hera, when she hurled him off of Mount Olympus crippling him. • He fashioned the armor and tools of the gods on a broken mountain near Mount Olympus. • He made beautiful jewelry for the goddesses.

13. Aphrodite- Goddess of Love, Beauty and Fertility • In most stories, she is married to Hephaestus, but she is a wandering, unfaithful wife. She has many affairs, most notably with Ares and Adonis. • She was “born” from the severed member of Uranus, Cronus’s father, and Zeus’s grandfather. • Many can argue that Aphrodite caused the Trojan War with her Golden Apple. • She is associated with the symbol of a dove.

14. Eros-God of Love, including Lustful attraction • Eros is the son of Aphrodite and Ares. • He is often depicted as a little cherub with wings, and a bow and arrow. • He is also known as Cupid.

15. Ares-Cruel God of War • He was a ruthless and murderous god, who displayed the worst of humanity’s traits. • He, along with grief, strife, panic, and terror, roams the earth. • Ironically, he was a coward, who fled the field of battle.

16. Apollo-The Sun God; God of Music,Poetry, Wisdom, Light and Truth • He was the twin brother of Artemis and the most handsome of the gods. • He was also the god of the healing arts and of medicine. • He drove his chariot across the sky to pull the sun each day. • His son, Phaethon, drives Apollo’s sun chariot with disastrous results.

17. Artemis- Goddess of the Woods,Moon and the Hunt • She was the twin sister of Apollo, whose mother was Leto and father was Zeus. • She was a chaste huntress, who always carried a silver bow and arrows. • She ruled over the untamed places of the earth.

18. Dionysus-God of Revelryand the Vine • He is said to be the only god on Olympus with a mortal parent. • His creation of wine brings ecstasy and drunkenness to his revelers. • Much of the ancient world’s greatest poetry was created in his honor.

19. Demeter-Goddess of Cornand the Harvest • She was the goddess of growing things. • She was the mother of Persephone, whose father was Zeus. • Her daughter was kidnapped by Hades and taken to the Underworld for six months of the year causing the change of seasons.

20. Hestia-Goddess of the Hearth • She was the sister of Zeus and the daughter of Cronos and Rhea. • She represented personal and communal security and happiness. • She was thought of as the kindest and mildest of the goddesses. • She was of little mythological importance, appearing in only a few stories.